


I'm Just Passing Through

by AbeTheDadtm



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Crying, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, Unofficial Sequel, hand-holding, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-15 23:38:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15424170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbeTheDadtm/pseuds/AbeTheDadtm
Summary: In which Thor's people find a home in space, and Thor finds a home somewhere else.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a one-shot.

After Ragnarok, things fell into a strange calm. Sure, there were tons of strange people that Bruce barely understood, stuck in a spaceship, trying to find a new home. But it was calm. Bruce didn't have to Hulk out in order to fight some giant fricking dog on a waterfall. He didn't have to perform in gladiator matches for some random dude's entertainment. Most of what he did nowadays was fly around in space until they found somewhere safe. It was lonely, kind of hopeless, but it was calm. At least at first.

The Asgardians settled down. They were mournful and sad -- who wouldn't be, really? -- but not restless. Loki and Valkyrie fell into new tasks, figuring out food rations and trying to find a planet both empty and habitable. Korg rallied the others, kept their confidence up. Even Bruce himself took on piloting the ship and helping navigate.

But Thor was having trouble settling.

He was there, sure. He helped make decisions and told people what to do and helped calm down whatever few arguments arose in between the Asgardians. But he was struggling. Bruce could tell. He'd been through crap like that. You lose your dad, your prized weapon, your homeland, and your eye...that messes you up. Bruce felt bad for the guy. When he was wrapping up flying before going to sleep, he would see Thor hanging around, pacing, restless. He was always tired. He wasn't the happy, excited puppy of a guy he was before.

The mild worry grew when he started picking fights.

Loki glared at his brother over the map of the universe. "No, Thor, we can't settle down on Iephus-B. There's a warring tribe of alien things there. We'd be snuffed out before we even landed."

"Well, then, we'll settle on Saphyrus, then," Thor said, pointing to exactly the wrong planet on the map.

"No, that's Iephus-A. We already passed Saphyrus. Besides, Saphyrus is run by a dictatorship. We'd be rounded up and beheaded in front of half a billion slaves." Loki gritted his teeth and clutched the chair he was leaning on.

"What about Iephus-A?" Thor asked.

"Iephus-A is run by the same people as Iephus-B, but worse." Loki groaned. "There aren't any planets near here that would accept all these refugees. We have to keep going."

"We need to find a place to land," Thor said. His voice was stern, almost sharp. "The people are getting restless, we're running out of food--"

"We're fine on food, Thor! And the people aren't getting restless, it's you!"

Thor stepped forward, but Bruce blocked him. "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Let's all settle down here." Bruce put his hands on Thor's shoulders gently. Thor's ragged breath calmed, if only just. Then he turned away and faced the huge window, facing out towards the void of space and planets and stars. Bruce said to Loki, "Could you let me talk to him real quick?"

Loki said nothing, just turned around and walked out.

"What do you want, Bruce?" Thor asked brusquely.

"What's going on, Thor?" Bruce asked. "Have you been sleeping lately?"

"What does it matter to you?" Thor turned away.

"You're our leader, here!" Bruce exclaimed. "You're the one in charge of this shit. We can't have you flying off the rails." He sighed, hands on hips. "Besides...you're my friend. I care about you. And I understand what you're going through and it's...it's not easy."

Thor leaned against the window. The anger and frustration faded into sadness, and Bruce's heart panged a little. "I don't know what to do, Bruce. One second, I'm fighting monsters, saving the world, la di da, but the next...almost everything I know and love is gone, and I'm in charge of Asgard."

"That can't be easy on anyone." Bruce moved closer, a bit shyly. "You've been through a lot. You gotta come to people for help."

"Who? I'm the King of Asgard now. Loki's an ass, Val's always busy--"

"You could always come to me," said Bruce. The words almost fell from his mouth before he realized how pathetic it felt. But it also felt needed. He wanted to be important to Thor. He wanted to help.

Thor looked over at him. He smiled and nodded. "Thank you." His voice was earnest and true.

Bruce felt like a shy kid again, forced into the spotlight. All he could do was smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Thor spent more time with Bruce, as often as he could with all the stuff he had to do. In between figuring out where they were going to go, keeping track of rations, making sure everyone was getting along, he found himself spend time in the cockpit, pacing around while Bruce worked. It was a bit strange hanging around all the time without thinking about something else. His head was still restless and he didn't have the words to say what was going on. But being around Bruce was...well, it was comfortable. At the very least, he was in no danger of being stabbed.

The days passed, and the distance between the two lessened. Thor occasionally asked about the different buttons on the console, and Bruce would tell him what they did. He would ask about the various solar systems they were passing through, and Bruce would describe them. He was smart, and when he spoke about what he understood, he got all giddy and excited. Thor couldn't help but crack a smile. He hadn't had a lot of time to spend with Bruce down in Midgard, and there were always things to do, aliens to defeat, stones to find, or whatever. But Thor was getting to like this. Getting to like the time he spent with the tired human who stared at buttons and stars all day.

It was late, and Bruce and Thor were getting ready for sleep. Bruce stretched his arms, curling his back, yawning like a cat. Thor smiled and playfully poked him in the ribs.

"What was that?" Bruce asked, brow furrowed, arms slowly drifting down.

Thor shrugged. "I dunno. You were cute."

Bruce blushed. "Okay..."

The doors to the cockpit swept open, but instead of Davynn, the Asgardian who piloted the ship during the night, Valkyrie and Loki were there, arms folded. "What's wrong? Where's Davynn?"

"Davynn fell ill," said Loki, arms crossed, keeping his distance. "His daughter got sick and she's infected the whole family."

"When did you learn this?" Thor asked. "You should've told me, I could've helped--"

"We only just heard," said Valkyrie. "Korg is working on getting them quarantined so it doesn't spread, and we're going to look for medicine in the ship, make sure there's no one else who's sick. We came here to tell you to stay in here until we have the situation under control."

Bruce ran his fingers through the greying parts of his hair, sighing, tired. "Okay. Okay, okay. Can you spare a ration of coffee?"

"Of course," said Valkyrie. "I'll get some for both of you."

"Both of us?" Thor asked. "No, no, no, I'm taking care of this with you."

"No," said Loki, straightening his back. "For better or for worse, you're our leader. If you got sick, too, everything would fall apart. Just wait here with Bruce until we tell you, too. Okay?"

"What if you got sick?" Thor asked. As much as the little weasel deserved it sometimes, Thor didn't want his brother to suffer.

"I'll be fine," said Loki. "Just stay inside. Please?" A flash of care appeared on his face. Thor tried not to smile at it -- Loki was so prideful sometimes.

"Alright, alright," said Thor. "Just get us the coffee. And maybe some food."

"Thank you," Valkyrie said as she and Loki left the cockpit.

Bruce slumped into a chair. He wasn't particularly tall, but the exhaustion made him look almost shrunken. Thor sat down in a chair next to him.

"Maybe you can show me how to pilot the ship?" Thor asked.

"I can't ask that of you," said Bruce. "Really, I should teach some of the Asgardians so we have a backup."

"No, no, I want to learn," said Thor. "I want to help you."

"You're already helping everyone else, Thor." Bruce's voice was low and tired and serious. He rubbed his eyes behind his glasses and the scruff of a beard growing in at his cheeks. "You may be a god, but you're still a person. You still have limits. Give yourself a break."

Thor said nothing. He felt terrible, not being able to help or do anything. He turned his chair to look out the window. With the lights all turned low, everything outside was so clear. Thor had seen space and planets and stars and all that, but tonight they were glorious.

Bruce chuckled a little bit. Thor turned towards him, furrowed his brows. "What's funny?"

"I spent so long staring at a console," Bruce said, "that I forgot to look out at the stars."


	3. Chapter 3

Loki and Val got sick. Of course. Both were stubbornly refusing that they were as they coughed so loud you could hear it from half-way across the ship, as they wilted with bad fevers and turned pale as ghosts. Eventually, Thor and Bruce bullied them into joining the quarantine. The good news was that they found some meds, so the sickness was contained and being treated.

The bad news was that Thor was alone.

He had to figure out rations ("Should I give more to the sick?" he asked Bruce. "They've just been heaving it all up again."), navigation ("Where the hell is Zaphyr-4? That was supposed to be empty right?" "No, Thor, Zaphyr-4 has a race of man-eating aliens on it." "I thought Loki said--" "That's what Loki told me, alright?"), and settling arguments ("If Valdemar and Kristoffer don't stop arguing I'm going to scream.") Every five minutes he was coming in again, pacing around restlessly, grumbling about some new problem. Poor guy, Bruce thought.

Thor's hands crackled with lightning as he walked around the cockpit, rubbing his neck and hair. The glow lit up the cockpit with blue, and Bruce jumped with every spark. He got up from his seat, raising his hands to stop Thor. "Thor, buddy. I need you to calm down before you blow up a console." Thor didn't stop in time and Bruce's hands pressed against Thor's chest. His hands tingled and his arms cramped. He cursed and pulled away in pain. Greens veins formed on the inside of his hands.

"Shit," Thor said, and his restless anger turned into regret as the lightning dissipated. He helped Bruce to a seat, rubbing his back, whispering, "The sun's going down, it's getting really low, the sun's going down, it's getting really low." His voice was panicked, low, whispering, shaking. All Bruce could do was try to focus on it, keep his panicking lungs from breaking through his ribcage. "I'm so sorry, Bruce, I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry. The sun's going down, it's getting really low."

Bruce's panic slowly faded. His hands weren't shaking, his arms weren't cramping. He felt weak and exhausted. Bruce stayed where he was, slumped over his knees in his chair, arms pulled in against his chest. Thor kept rubbing his back. "The sun's going down, it's getting really low." His voice was cracking -- was he crying? Bruce said nothing. His body was too tired, too anxious to cooperate with his mind. 

Thor sat down on the floor next to him, head pressed against the chair, his hand moving from Bruce's back to his shoulder. His repeating of the calming phrase slowed to a stop, replaced by shaking sobs. "I'm sorry, Bruce. I'm really am. It's just...with Valkyrie and Loki gone and me not knowing what to do...I just panicked. I didn't mean to hurt you. You're all I have. Please tell me you're okay."

Bruce reached out a hand and awkwardly petted Thor's hair. It was starting to grow out a little, getting back to its old fluffy texture. Thor's hand gripped onto Bruce's forearm as he kept on crying.

"The sun's going down," said Bruce, shy and quiet. "It's getting really low."


	4. Chapter 4

Thor couldn't sleep. He was racked with guilt over hurting Bruce. He couldn't place exactly why it pained him so much, why the look of pain and fear kept crossing his mind. When he slept, he dreamed the Hulk came back, but he couldn't leave. No matter how many times he told him, "The sun is going down, it's getting really low," he wouldn't calm down. He just cried out, screamed, fought, all with a look of betrayal in his eyes.

"Thor did this. Thor brought Hulk back."

Thor blinked awake, his breath shuddering. He sat up. He was okay, safe. But where was Bruce? Was something wrong? Thor quickly got up out of bed, heading towards Bruce's room. It was down the hall, he could knock. Find some excuse to see him.

A voice stopped him first. "You don't need to check on him," said Heimdall, standing in the door to his room. "He's fine."

Thor nodded. "Yes. Of course, I just--" Thor sighed and dropped his smile. "I just accidentally shocked him earlier today and--"

"You were worried," Heimdall said, almost amused. "You care for him, don't you?"

Thor laughed nervously. "Well...well, yeah. We're friends. Good friends."

"I didn't mean in that way." Heimdall approached slowly.

Thor's smile dropped. He furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about? We're just friends, that's all."

Heimdall sighed, stopped approaching him. "Sometimes we are blind to the most important people in our lives. Remember that, Thor Odinson." Heimdall turned on his heels, returned to his room. The door closed softly, with only a whisper of a mechanism.

"Okay..." Thor said, crossing his arms. He thought about going back to bed or at least trying to go to bed, but instead, he knocked on the door anyway. He had to see him for himself.

Bruce groaned from the other side of the door. Thor heard him get up and come over to the door. A button beeped, and the door opened. A very tired Bruce, wrapped in the thin sheet from his bed, looked at him through tired eyes. "Oh. It's you. Is something wrong?" His eyes widened a little when he noticed Thor was shirtless, and he pulled the blankets closer to his face.

"Good, you're okay," Thor said with a smile. "I just had a bad dream about you and...I'm sorry for what happened earlier today."

"Yeah," said Bruce, a little muffled by the sheet. He said something else, quiet and low, and Thor couldn't hear him.

"I can't hear you," Thor said. "You're covering your face with the sheet."

"Yeah, I know, that was the--" Bruce huffed and pulled down the sheet, turning away. "I said you said that already."

"Oh. Well...I wanted to make sure you knew. That I meant it."

"I know."

"I know, you know, but..." Thor scratched at his neck. The spot where the shocking thingy was before still hurt a little. "I wanted to tell you. When I wasn't...well, you know."

"Crying?" Bruce smiled a little, turning slightly towards him again. "I understand. You're under a lot of stress right now with everyone being sick and all. It was an accident. Accidents happen."

"Yeah, but you could've turned into the Hulk. What if you didn't turn back?" Thor crossed his arms. He was so nervous -- why was he nervous?

"I'm getting control back, Thor," said Bruce. "I'm getting it back on track. Last time I was Hulk I turned back! Easy. And I got it back under control. I'm fine, Thor. You should be worrying more about yourself than about me."

Thor quieted down for a moment, leaned on the door frame. In the dim light of the hallway during sleeping hours, he looked exhausted. The deep hollows under his eyes, the wrinkles in his brow, the grey in his hair. "I still worry about you. That's...that's what friends do, right?"

Bruce smiled, a little sadly. "Yeah. Friends." He looked up at Thor, not into his eyes, but just...scanning him. Then he turned back to the button that opened and closed the door. "Get yourself some sleep, Thor. I'll need you working at your best, tomorrow."

Thor nodded and turned back towards his room. "Goodnight, Bruce."

"Night, Thor," said Bruce as the door closed.


End file.
